Finding the Marauders AT LAST!
by books101
Summary: Fred and George have wanted to know who the Marauders are since they first discovered the Map. Now it's the summer before their seventh year, and they still don't know! Time for some detective work! Sequel to TtDtL, but not necessary to read first.


**_A/N: Hello All! I got a whole lot of requests for a sequel to _Trying to Decipher the Legend_, so, here it is! I hope it lives up to expectations..._**

**_I would like to thank all the people that reviewed my previous section of the Weasley Twins adventures, as that was what helped inspire me to actually finish this piece. I can assure you it wouldn't have happened otherwise, as I had severe writers block._**

**_Please let me know how this compares and shapes up!_**

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own any aspect of the <strong>_**Harry Potter**** series or characters, I only claim this plot line as my own, rather crazy, idea. If I owned such a wonderful series, I wouldn't be writing on Fanfiction, would I?**_

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><p><strong><em>AN 2: Oh Yeah, and I would like to dedicate this fic to our very own Fred Weasley, for his heroic sacrifice. I spent months in denial after Deathly Hallows, and I would like this story about Fred and his beloved twin George to be read with Fred in mind. Rest in peace: we will always miss you, one of our favorite Weasley Twins._**

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><p><strong><em><em>**It was the summer before Fred and George Weasley's last year of Hogwarts. They weren't quite sure what they thought of this summer, because it was vastly different than any other they'd had before.

It was strange because they weren't currently living in their family home, the Burrow. It had been a bit scary at first, because the move had been because Lord Voldemort, You-Know-Who, had come back at the end of the last school year. Because the Burrow wasn't protected to the fullest, it made sense that the Weasley family would go somewhere else for protection.

It just happened that the place they went was the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Of course, that was all that Fred and George had really been told about it— the name. But their parents and two oldest brothers were in the Order, and it made sense to move to Headquarters.

It had been exciting after the fear-factor had diminished. There were always people going in and out, and there was always something happening. Besides their family, the only permanent residents of Number Twelve Grimauld Place at this time were another interesting factor— their old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin, and the infamous Azkaban escapee, Sirius Black. And even all the cleaning they were doing- while tedious and occasionally boring enough to cause tears- was interesting because of what incredibly dark wizards the Blacks were.

Though the twins hadn't told anyone, they now had the means to start their store. Harry Potter had given them a thousand gold galleons at the end of the last term after Voldemort had returned, telling them that the whole world would be needing some laughs. The twins knew that Harry meant it, really believed they'd be great at a joke shop, and that he wouldn't miss the money (the Potters were known to be one of the oldest and richest wizarding families in Brittan). However, they also knew after the events of the third task of the Triwizard Tournament and Diggory's death, Harry didn't want the money or reminder.

So they'd vowed to each other to work hard and succeed for Harry.

And cleaning the house had given them opportunities to discover different substances that might help in their inventions, and their mother had been so busy that she never noticed them sneaking bits of things away.

Today was the first relatively quiet day that Headquarters had had in a few weeks. The twins knew that Harry was coming in another couple of weeks, something that Sirius was quite excited about. Even more shocking than hearing that the whole world had been wrong and that Sirius had been completely innocent when he'd been thrown in prison without a trial, was seeing how much he obviously cared for Harry. It seemed that Harry, Hermione, and Ron (their own brother!) had known the truth about Sirius for over a year! They'd been in contact, and Sirius seemed to adore Harry, hence the whole house counting down the days until his arrival.

Because this was the first quiet day with almost no Order members around or business to do, Molly Weasley had left to do some necessary errands. She'd left Sirius and Remus in charge, though anyone with brains knew that she was trusting Remus to keep order while she was out.

Sirius was often as bad, if not worse, than the kids.

After she left, Hermione and Ron had hidden themselves away in a spare room. While normally this would be a perfect teasing opportunity, the twins knew the best friends were discussing Harry and his letters. He claimed to be perfectly fine, but no one really trusted Harry's opinion in those types of matters, and the twins were concerned as well.

So they left Ron and Hermione alone.

Ginny had claimed she had work to do, and she locked herself in the Black Family Library. The twins were the only ones who knew that between the war starting now and the memories of being helpless during her first year, Ginny had taken it upon herself to study ahead in certain subjects to avoid ever being in that kind of situation again. They'd actually pointed her to a couple good defense theory books, seeing as she couldn't do magic during the summer. So they left her alone, too.

Remus and Sirius had warned the twins to behave before disappearing upstairs themselves. The twins had always respected Remus, and Sirius was pretty awesome, so there was a good chance that they'd obey. They hadn't decided yet, though. And seeing as the adults had looked rather serious instead of playful, the twins decided not to disturb them. They only got that way this summer (from what the twins had observed thus far) when there was somber Order business or when they were worried about something concerning Harry.

So they'd be left alone for a while as well.

That left Fred and George with plenty of free time, so they walked down the stairs to the kitchen in the basement, where there was a fire roaring in the fireplace, a large table, and butterbeer. Everything they'd want or need for their somewhat boring, but necessary, plans.

Fred plopped himself onto the nearest bench and began to lay out his papers in order as George grabbed them both drinks, popping the bottles open and handing one to his brother.

"Cheers! To WWW," he said, to which Fred only clinked his bottle against his twin's in agreement before taking a large gulp.

The twins had shortened the name of their company from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes to WWW for daily use. It was easier to say and write, and much more efficient. Plus, they didn't think their mum had caught onto the abbreviation yet, allowing them to use it in company, too, normally without repercussions.

The papers that Fred had brought down contained many things: some properties that they were considering looking into (they wanted premises by the next summer, meaning they needed to work during the year, something they were both willing to do in this case), a few recipes they'd perfected that just needed a little tweaking, a few that needed fixing because they weren't working properly, and a couple of blank pieces of parchment and some quills and ink, for the letters they needed to write and notes they needed to take.

Yes, Fred and George were working during the holidays. But it wasn't schoolwork, so they weren't too disgusted with themselves.

George was sitting down to start on a letter to the man helping them look at buildings in Diagon Alley, and a note to Harry. The twins had decided to let him know how things were going, seeing as he _was_ an investor in their business now, and plus, he could probably use some cheering up after being sent back to the muggles after the year he'd had.

Fred began with the tweaking, as it was the easier work, leaving the alterations on the pranks that weren't working at all to do together later. While he was good at the charms (it being his best subject) George was more talented at Potions in general, which was the subject that they'd be employing in the ideas they had to work on today.

After a little while of quiet work, George mused aloud what he was thinking to his brother.

"Y'know, Fred, this is our last year at school, and we never discovered who the Marauders were."

Fred stopped working as he thought about that. "You're right. Actually, we never thought of it, but the Order members are all different ages and most likely wouldn't have any of the same reactions that the teachers did. We should ask some."

George smiled widely and enthusiastically.

"Yeah, we should!" he grabbed a piece of blank parchment from the pile and wet his quill. "So, Kingsley might be the right age, or maybe Hestia Jones," he said, naming two of the Order members they'd met recently. "I assume that Tonks is too young, because she must have still been a little kid during You-Know-Who's first war."

Fred was nodding along. "You know who might know?" he asked. At George's interest he said, "Sirius and Remus. You know Flitwick said during a dark time, and we know that they were at school with James and Lily Potter, which means that they were there during the beginning and out for only the last couple years of You-Know-Who being in power."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Oh, and know what else!"

"What?"

"All the teachers we asked were there at that time! We know McGonagall taught them from what she said when she came to dinner, Flitwick and Dumbledore were both there, of course, and Pomfrey said a couple years ago when we were in the Hospital Wing that she started right before You-Know-Who became known- while they were in school!"

"Right!" Fred said with excitement, "And Mum said that Filtch wasn't there when she started school, but came after her NEWT year, meaning he was there when Sirius and Remus were!"

"And last," George said solemnly, "We know that Snape went to school with Sirius and Remus from how much they despise and talk about each other. It would make sense if he was at school with the Marauders too, from the reaction he had he obviously knew them to some extent and he was much too young to have been a teacher!"

The twins grinned, obviously very pleased with themselves.

"Because they're busy right now, we'll need to wait to ask. We'll try and corner them tonight." Fred said decisively, after a minute of smiling.

"Alright, then," George agreed, before going back to work. Fred did the same.

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><p>It turned out that it wasn't that easy to catch Remus and Sirius alone. As soon as their mother returned home that day, it seemed as if she went out of her way to make sure that the twins were never alone with the two men. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that they were sure she would have overreacted more than this if she knew their plans, they would have believed that she was reading their minds.<p>

The next day wasn't any better, so the twins moved on to their backup plan before the Order meeting started: they cornered Kingsley and Hestia as they came in.

"Hello Fred, George," Kingsley said casually in his calm, deep, slow voice. "Is there something we can do for you?"

Hestia just glared at them silently. It seemed she wasn't very happy with being dragged into the library by the back of her shirt, with a hand clasped over her mouth.

Fred and George suspected that maybe they should have known that.

"We just have a quick question, then we'll let you get to your super important, super secret meeting." Fred promised.

"Wow, boys. Still bitter much on being excluded?" Hestia mocked. The twins ignored her.

"What is the question?" Kingsley questioned.

"My dear twin and I," George answered him after a quick glare to the witch, "have been trying to discover the identity of the Marauders, who were a group of pranksters at Hogwarts some years ago. We're wondering if you might know who they were?"

It was obviously not what the adults had been expecting, from their surprised expressions. However, the twins were acting perfectly seriously, so they assumed that the boys really wanted an answer.

"I was at Hogwarts after they were, though I heard the name in the halls sometimes. But I'm pretty sure they were Gryffindors, and I was a firstie Hufflepuff, so I didn't even know anyone who'd known them. Sorry boys." Hestia didn't sound all that sorry though, and she left the library in a huff, shutting the door sharply behind her.

George and Fred exchanged despairing looks. They weren't getting anywhere, even after all these years. Maybe it wasn't worth it- they could be getting something productive done, with their business.

"I might be able to help you boys," came the deep voice from behind them. They'd forgotten that Kingsley was still there!

They spun to face him with identical, hopeful looks on their faces. "Really?" They asked as one.

He chuckled slowly. "I don't know who they were, but they definitely were seventh years by the time I started. I was a Ravenclaw, and Hestia's right— they were Gryffindors. So I don't know any names, but I can point you to who might know."

"Yeah?" They asked eagerly.

"Yeah." He assured them with a chuckle. "I don't know exactly what year they were in at the time, but Remus and Sirius were both still at school when I started, in one of the upper years. From what I hear, Gryffindors tend to have almost no secrets in the Tower. I assume they'd know."

Fred snorted. "Except when the secrets belong to the 'Golden Trio'," George muttered.

"What was that?" Kingsley asked politely.

"Nothing," Fred sighed, "Just that Ron and his friends tend to keep a lot of secrets, and successfully too. _We_ never even find out until after the fact!" He exclaimed with obvious indignation that had Kingsley fighting a grin. Smiling would only upset the redheaded twins, who seemed anxious enough already. "He and Harry get into so much trouble, and Hermione always gets dragged down too."

"Yeah," George added with mock wistfulness, "And she was such a good girl and student until they corrupted her."

Kingsley just shook his head with fond exasperation at the twins. They shrugged. He hadn't met Harry yet, or seen all three of the friends together. He'd understand after he was the one on the receiving end of some surprise or other.

"Thanks, Kingsley," Fred said sincerely. "I think that's helpful. We were planning on asking Sirius and Remus anyway, but now we know it'll be worth the time to get them away from Mum."

Kingsley just laughed at them, waving goodbye as he left the same way Hestia had, though shutting the door more gently behind him.

And Fred and George devised their plans to speak to their new contacts.

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><p>As it turns out, it wasn't that hard to get them alone the next day.<p>

Molly Weasley was once again out for the day, this time with a list of things needing to be done before Harry arrived. And with everyone else dispersed, Fred and George had no problem casually entering the kitchen where Remus and Sirius were talking together.

"I don't know, Sirius. Molly would have your head if she got wind of it."

"Reemmmmy! When did you get so boring? You were much more fun in school." Fred smirked at George who smirked back at Fred from either side of the door they were shielded behind. Both could _hear_ the pout in Sirius's voice.

"Yes, but now we're adults and should probably at least _try_ and be responsible. Some of the time." He added, seemingly reluctantly.

But before Sirius could reply, the twins decided to save Remus.

"Hello!" Fred announced his arrival, with George right behind him, "We have a question for you two gentlemen!"

Sirius grinned, but Remus let out a long suffering sigh. "Why do I have the feeling that this is something your mother would probably not approve of us helping with?"

"Because she most likely would not." George answered simply. For some odd reason, that caused Remus to look even more exasperated. Why did adults always look that way around them?

"C'mon, Remus. We might as well hear what they need. We owe it to the future generation to help them in the ways of mischief."

Remus just shook his head some more, but the twins grinned and turned to Sirius. "Hit me." Sirius said, excitedly rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Remus obliged, and slapped Sirius on the back of his head. But besides rubbing the spot grumpily and rolling his eyes, Sirius ignored his friend and focused on the twins.

"We've been asking around, and thought that maybe you two could help us. We're trying to figure out the identity of the Marauders, who were a group of pranksters at Hogwarts years ago."

Sirius and Remus exchanged looks that the twins couldn't quite decipher, though Sirius's looked almost gleeful.

They figured they could help the men out. After all, when one reaches a certain, older, age, one's memory starts to go.

"We know that they were in Gryffindor around when you two were, and that there were four of them."

"And they cause the teachers of Hogwarts some very strange reactions." George added. Then the two quieted to hear the verdict.

"Y'know," Sirius said slowly, "that name does ring a bell." The twins were ecstatic, and didn't even mind the exasperated look on Remus's face.

"Yeah?" They asked eagerly.

"Yeah." Sirius confirmed, just as Kingsley had the previous day. "They were responsible for the most amazing pranks while we were at school. Hey, Remus, remember that time when they charmed the entryway to the Great Hall, and anyone that passed through could only talk in limericks for three days? Or the one time that they managed to die the Giant Squid lime green with purple polka dots?"

The memories were apparently getting to Remus, because when the twins looked over at him he was beginning to smile mischievously, his former irritation gone. "Yeah, I do. Or what about the time when they got McGonagall stuck in her animagus form for an entire day before setting that dog after her?" That one caused Sirius to laugh especially loudly, "And when they charmed Dumbledore's chair to tie his hair in little braids with bows and ribbons?"

The two men seemed to be enjoying themselves, but Fred and George merely gaped in awe.

"You mean they actually managed to get one over the _Professors_?" They asked. "And _Dumbledore_?" That was almost unheard of.

"Well, they suspected that Dumbledore knew about the pranks but allowed them to happen. Of course, the Marauders were pretty sure he never knew they were going to charm the common rooms to be glow-in-the-dark. And because they created the spell, it took Flitwick a week to counter it!"

The men were now full out grinning at each other with nostalgia. Fred and George were thrilled.

"Does that mean you know them? Their real names?"

"Yeah, I might remember…" Sirius trailed off. "I think one of them started with a L… no, a… J! That's what it was! Je- Ji- Ju-"

"Sirius…" Remus groaned, looking at his friend with fond impatience. "You're going to break them!"

Sure enough, the twins were holding their breaths and sitting tense in their seats, waiting for the ball to drop. They were having trouble breathing.

"Jas... Jam…"

"Padfoot!" Remus exclaimed, and then seemed scared as he realized what he'd done, and as both twins froze at the name, then spun to face the now still werewolf.

"Aw, Moony!" Sirius whined, "You ruined it!"

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><p><strong><em>AN: There it is! I was going to continue, but I wasn't sure where to go from here. And after letting it sit for a week or so, I went back and read it over, for grammar and corrections and such, and I realized I kind of liked this ending. All these kinds of fics show the twins doing something weird like bowing and saying _'we are not worthy'_, or something else of the kind, and then they go into the depressing bits as the twins find out who Wormtail was, and how Prongs died. So I think I like it where it is. The rest can be left to your imagination. _**

**_So unless someone is really unhappy, this is the ending. If someone really needs more, I can add an alternate ending of sorts. But really think about it from my perspective, as previously explained. _**

**_I was considering writing a piece based on Kingsley here: based on what the twins were saying about him not knowing Harry like they did. It would probably span Kingsley's thoughts and impressions from this fic here, getting Harry fifth book, the DA confrontation with Fudge, Department of Mysteries, whatever I can get from the sixth book, and then Potterwatch stuff and the battle seventh book. Anyone interested? I haven't started, and I'm not sure I will unless I get at least a little itty bit of interest._**

**_Thanks again for reading, and please, PLEASE review! It makes me happy, and as previously said, inspires me. _**

**_-Books_**


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